Impact of Obesity and Heavy Alcohol Consumption on Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development after HCV Eradication with Antivirals.

Background And Aims: It remains unclear whether obesity increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis C who achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) with antiviral therapy.

Methods: In this multicenter cohort study, we enrolled patients with chronic hepatitis C who achieved SVR with interferon (IFN)-based therapy (IFN group) or direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy (DAA group) between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2018. The patients underwent regular surveillance for HCC.

Change in hepatitis C virus positivity among needle-stick injury source patients: a 10-year experience in a Japanese tertiary hospital.

Background: As a blood-borne pathogen, hepatitis C virus (HCV) has long been a major threat associated with needle-stick injuries (NSIs) mainly because no vaccine is available for HCV. Following an NSI, we usually test the source patient for HCV antibody (HCV-Ab). Since HCV-Ab positivity does not necessarily indicate current infection, HCV RNA is further examined in patients positive for HCV-Ab.

Heterozygous knockout of Bile salt export pump ameliorates liver steatosis in mice fed a high-fat diet.

The incidence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is increasing worldwide, including in Asian countries. We reported that the hepatic expression of bile salt export pump (BSEP) was downregulated in patients with NASH, suggesting that BSEP is involved in the pathogenesis of NASH. To identify the underlying mechanism, we analyzed Bsep heterozygous knock-out (Bsep+/- mice) and wild-type (WT) C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) (32.

Improved liver function in patients with cirrhosis due to chronic hepatitis C virus who achieve sustained virologic response is not accompanied by increased liver volume.

Background: Serum albumin level improves in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who achieve sustained virologic response (SVR) with antiviral therapy. However, it remains controversial whether liver volume increases along with SVR.

Methods: Patients with chronic HCV infection with a history of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who achieved SVR with anti-HCV treatment from March 2003 to November 2017 were enrolled.

Hepatic FATP5 expression is associated with histological progression and loss of hepatic fat in NAFLD patients.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are characterized by the accumulation of excess hepatic fat. However, in the progression from NASH to cirrhosis, hepatic fat is often lost. Our aim was to elucidate the mechanism underlying hepatic fat loss during NASH progression.

Noninvasive diagnostic criteria for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis based on gene expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) consists of nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH); the latter progresses to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Discriminating NASH from NAFL typically involves liver biopsy. The mechanism of NASH progression is unclear but may involve immunological pathways.

infection and liver diseases: Epidemiology and insights into pathogenesis.

Both () infection and liver diseases, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), viral hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), have high prevalences worldwide, and the relationship between infection and liver disease has been discussed for many years. Although positive correlations between and NAFLD have been identified in some clinical and experimental studies, negative correlations have also been obtained in high-quality clinical studies. Associations between and the pathogenesis of chronic viral hepatitis, mainly disease progression with fibrosis, have also been suggested in some clinical studies.

Hepatic IRS1 and ß-catenin expression is associated with histological progression and overt diabetes emergence in NAFLD patients.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between NAFLD and impaired glucose metabolism in terms of insulin receptor substrate 1 and 2 (IRS1 and IRS2) expression in the liver.

Methods: Liver biopsy was performed at the University of Tokyo Hospital between November 2011 and March 2016 on 146 patients with NAFLD who were not being treated with any diabetes or dyslipidemia drugs.

Nonstructural 5A Protein of Hepatitis C Virus Interferes with Toll-Like Receptor Signaling and Suppresses the Interferon Response in Mouse Liver.

The hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein NS5A is involved in resistance to the host immune response, as well as the viral lifecycle such as replication and maturation. Here, we established transgenic mice expressing NS5A protein in the liver and examined innate immune responses against lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vivo. Intrahepatic gene expression levels of cytokines such as interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ were significantly suppressed after LPS injection in the transgenic mouse liver.

Recurrent Acute Liver Failure Because of Acute Hepatitis Induced by Organic Solvents: A Case Report.

The authors present a case of recurrent acute liver failure because of occupational exposure to organic solvents. A 35-year-old man with a 3-week history of worsening jaundice and flu-like symptoms was admitted to our hospital. Viral hepatitis serology and autoimmune factors were negative.

The intrahepatic expression levels of bile acid transporters are inversely correlated with the histological progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) presents as a spectrum ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The latter is progressive, and its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Recently, bile acid (BA) metabolism has become a therapeutic focus in NASH patients.

Helicobacter pylori infection is not associated with fatty liver disease including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a large-scale cross-sectional study in Japan.

Background: Fatty liver disease (FLD) including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a rapidly emerging and widely recognized liver disease today, is regarded as a hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Helicobacter pylori, one of the most common pathogens worldwide, has been reported to be associated with metabolic syndrome, but whether there is a direct association with FLD is as of yet unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify the association of FLD and NAFLD with causative background factors including Helicobacter pylori infection.